Everyday I Thank the Gods for You
by MariaHime
Summary: Set after The Ceremonial Battle; A dead pharaoh in the afterlife doesn't mope, he celebrates. For eternity. Atem doesn't, and the gods don't like that at all, so they decide to do something about it. Also on DeviantART
1. Preface

Description: Set after The Ceremonial Battle; A dead pharaoh in the afterlife doesn't mope, he celebrates. For eternity. Atem doesn't, and the gods don't like that at all, so they decide to do something about it.

A/N:

Disclaimer: If 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' belonged to me, Yugi and Yami would have kissed after the final duel, and he would never have left in the first place. :P

If you're **anyone** from my family, or someone I know personally, please leave this page IMMEDIATELY and NEVER come back. Thank You.

The same goes if you're against yaoi and puzzleshipping. This was written because it refused to leave my mind for weeks. It also contains my first lemon-ish scene _ever,_ so constructive criticism is welcome. Also, I don't mind if you point out grammar/orthography mistakes.

Whatever is is, feel free to ask!

A few facts about this Fic:

- This is rated **M** for a reason even if the preface doesn't show that!

- My Isis is not the one who has the millennium necklace, but the actual goddess Isis, the partner/sister of the god Osiris.

- I kinda like the idea of two gods discussing little Yugi's fate and taking a look at his beautiful little soul ;)

- I know it's kinda unfair and idiotic to make Thoth, the god of wisdom, so stupid and smitten, but I find it funny. Sue me!

Preface

The dark silence that followed the Pharaohs departure from the world of the living was eerie and cold, but was broken quickly by the sobs of a boy. His friends watched, unable to move, as he fell to his knees once again and started to stain the cool concrete with his tears. They wanted to move over to him and comfort him somehow, but something held them back, and they stood frozen on their spots, uncomprehending.

Minutes passed, and as Yugi's sobs quieted down, he looked up, past his friends, fixing his gaze on the gate Atem had left through. In an instant, he was on his feet, rushing over to the huge stone entrance. With an almost reverent carefulness, he placed his palms on it. Were his hands shaking? Unable to bring himself to care, he pushed, scraping his skin on the rough stone without feeling the physical pain.

The gate didn't budge, but he tried harder nonetheless, not noticing the glistening red he was leaving on it.

"No...it has to open. He's just behind it, he's just behind this! It has to _open_!", his words started in a frantic whisper and ended in a shrill, panicked shriek. The tears began to flow once again, and his fists hammered now, sending jolts of numb pain through him. "He can't...he's not gone, he can't be...", Yugi choked.

Something startled his friends out of their trance, and they started to move, rushing to him, pulling him away from the bloodied wall – because that's what it was now, just a wall – trying desperately to calm him down.

"Let me go! You should help, we can move it together, he can come right back through it, please!", the tiny duelist begged. Joey held on to his arms for dear life, needing to stop his friend from hurting himself further and mentally chiding himself for not reacting immediately when he realized what Yugi was doing. "Yugi, he's gone. Gone, do you hear me? And it's for the better. He's not coming back, and we're leaving this place now." Who was this voice? He wanted that voice to shut up, it was horrible and lying, he wouldn't believe such lies, he knew the truth, he knew his Yami would not leave him just like that. He shook his head in a fast, jerky motion. "NO! Be quiet! I don't believe you. We have to break it down, he'll be waiting right behind it, you'll see! Tell him Téa, tell him it's not true!"

She just looked at him with an unfathomably sad look in her eyes.

Why would she be sad? Atem was fine and waiting for them. "I'm so sorry Yugi, but it is the truth. Atem is not coming back, he's dead."

He moaned "No, no no no no..."

As he sobbed, Joey let go of his arms in cheerless relief, feeling the energy drain out of his friend. The blond knew one minute longer and he would have started to shake, or worse.

Yugi felt someone very warm put his arms around him, and he put his head on that person's shoulder, full-out crying.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter one

"Isis I have had enough! We have to find a way to do something about this situation!", Osiris exclaimed angrily one beautiful summer morning. "Huh? What do you mean? Is someone not behaving again? Send out Ammat or something. Let her deal with it in that unique way of hers. I'm not really in the mood to solve any problems.", answered Isis, bored already even though the day had not even really started yet.

"But you just _have _to help! Come on _please_, I can't find a solution, and I really don't feel like seeing Ammat. We're still fighting because she won't admit she's wrong." Osiris huffed irately. Isis sighed. "You are a god who is fighting with a goddess about a boring game like Senet.", he stared at her angrily until she sighed and said "Well, tell me what the problem is and I'll decide whether or not I wish to assist you."

"It's about that stupid crazy pharaoh."

"Atem?" The god of the dead, underworld and afterlife nodded eagerly, glad she was catching on quickly. "I thought you'd never decide to do something about that annoyingly wretched mood of his. It is quite pitiful.", she drawled, now sitting up on the huge, comfy couch she had been lounging on.

"You mean you noticed too?", he asked, caught by surprise.

"Of course I noticed, Osiris. Even Tut has noticed, and you know that brat almost never notices anything and anyone but himself since that stupid Carter found his tomb and the living ones declared him to be the most famous pharaoh and all of that shit... I'm surprised it took _you_ so long. Atem has been getting on everybody's nerves for about two years now.", the goddess of magic, motherhood and fertility answered.

"You did? He has?", Osiris asked, quite astonished.

"Stop babbling like that, you sound ridiculous. It has been going on long enough now. A pharaoh who has entered his afterlife is not supposed to mope around for lost love or whatever else is making him so sad. He's supposed to dance around and enjoy that he's dead, not sit there and wallow in misery all day long every day for eternity. Do you realize what his problem is? Because I'm not sure", she demanded.

Osiris moaned. "I took the liberty of finding out. He realized he loves someone...who's still alive. And that person is still so young it'll probably take him another seventy years to die! And we'll be stuck with the sunshine pharaoh until then!" Isis looked at him like he had gone mad.

Well, maybe he _had_...

"Why don't we just kill the kid? I mean, you _do _mean Yugi Mutou, right? Because he loves Atem, too."

He nodded again, not bothering to ask how the _hell_ his partner had found out about that. Some questions were better left unanswered. "It is. Have you ever taken a look at the boy?" She shook her head.

"Well I have. I could not kill him if I tried. Not possible.", he said, shaking his head miserably.

"What do you mean? You do remember that you're a god, right? A weird green one, yes, but you're still a god. You can kill whoever you want. Make a car crash happen or something. It is common enough.", she was really confused now. Why in the world was he making such a fuss if he already knew the solution to his little 'problem'? Getting the Mutou boy here was as easy as taking a toy from a child (and, in this case, giving it to an irritating dead pharaoh).

In answer, the god snapped his fingers, and a mirror appeared. He snapped them once again, and a picture started to form on the shiny glass. "You don't understand. Have a look. This is what he looks like."

Isis looked. And looked. And kept looking, unable to tear her eyes away. "Are you sure he is human? Make the picture bigger.", she commanded, her voice full of something that sounded like awe. Osiris complied, increasing the size of his magical mirror until Yugi's picture was almost life-sized and waited for her to react.

Isis had never seen such innocence, and such goodness in the simple image of a man. A pretty young one, too.

"How old is he?", she wondered aloud.

"Not sure, don't really care. Sixteen or seventeen. He just looks so young and...there's something about him. Can you have a look at his soul? I'm curious and you're good at that kind of thing."

"Sure. Give me a minute.", the goddess closed her eyes and concentrated on the picture of the boy that was probably never going to leave her mind again for the rest of her existence.

Just for curiosity's sake, she entered his Mind Room first. When she opened her eyes, Isis thought she had made a mistake and entered a toddler's mind, because, could a seventeen-year-old be so innocent and sweet and simply _good? _But the knowledge that she _couldn't _have made a mistake reassured her.

Looking around, she saw that it was full of colors, but they were faded. There was an incredibly sad, dismal mood here. Wafts of mist surrounded her, the kind of mist that only appeared if someone was terribly depressed and in lots of emotional pain. At first she thought that was due to Atem's death – Osiris had said he loved him, after all – but then she recalled that that had been years ago.

Had Yugi lost someone dear to him in the last few weeks?

It didn't look like it. Maybe it was because of Atem after all, but the emotions here were very foggy and she couldn't put her finger on the exact reasons. She was not sure why, but Isis knew that she needed to make this boy happy again, that he _deserved _to be happy no matter what. That he had gone through enough.

No, she would not permit his death. It was way too early for him, she decided as she took in the scattered toys and pictures everywhere. Between them, she could make out several dueling cards, the only things that were not faded and greyish, but full of life and colors.

There was Kuriboh – a card that certainly fitted this cute boy – the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, as well as Slifer, Ra and Obelisk. She spotted all five parts of Exodia, too, but they looked old and dusty. Several others were lying on the floor with the picture down. However, she didn't really want to turn them around and find out which cards they were.

After a final look around, she closed her eyes again and traveled to where Yugi was now, to take a look at his soul, as well as to see what he was doing.

Isis was standing in a small but nicely kept bathroom, where, on the floor, Yugi was sitting with his arms wrapped around his legs, oblivious to her as she was invisible to him. He wore dark blue pants that probably belonged to a school uniform, a black, sleeveless shirt and a black collar around his neck.

She could see why the pharaoh loved him: both his soul and body were of the same ethereal beauty. The woman couldn't help but wonder what kind of a lover he would be.

His head was resting on his knees, and he looked slightly older than in Osiris' picture. Taller and thinner but somehow leaner, too. Yugi was also sobbing quietly, and the goddess noticed that his left wrist was wrapped in clean white gauze, it's color only a few shades lighter than his skin.

Despite his beauty, he looked unhealthy and thin – too thin. She walked over to him and touched her fingers to his bandaged wrist, wanting to know who or what had hurt this boy, who was so very _clearly_ the soulmate of Atem that she was amazed to be the first to notice. To her, the bond between them was visible like bands of light, entwining their fates, their hearts and – to an extent – even their minds.

The next things she saw, she knew, had happened only a few days before. Yugi was in the same bathroom again, clutching something that looked suspiciously like a razor blade. There was a bandage on the floor, torn and stained red, but none on his wrist this time. He had obviously taken it off, and this was evidently not the first time he was doing this, as there were several red scars on his wrist, standing out on his otherwise unmarked skin. Some were very faint, almost completely healed, others still a dark red.

To Isis' eyes, the scene was as blurry as it was in Yugi's recollection, but she could still see what he was doing clearly enough. He was dragging the blade across his skin, letting tears escape his eyes and ignoring the several people who were knocking on the locked door.

Whoever they were, they knew what he was doing, and they knew it was not the first time.

Why weren't they doing _more_ to help him? Why was nobody knocking down the door? Why was no one taking this boy into their arms and comforting him? Why did he have access to a _razor blade _when it was well-known what he would do with it?

Blood oozed from the small wound Yugi had created, slowly dripping onto the white tiles of the bathroom floor. The cut was very shallow, but it didn't seem like Yugi was done yet. Isis swallowed the lump that had begun forming in her throat, trying to keep watching.

"That's right. That's a better kind of pain...a bearable kind of pain...I can deal with _this._ This pain is nothing to the other kind.", Yugi was whispering to himself, dragging the sharp blade across his skin, again and again and again, letting out a small moan and making the goddess' heart break with that tiny sound.

_Come on, woman. You've seen much worse than that. _She told herself angrily. _And this is part of the past already, so you can't change it._

Yugi dragged the blade across his skin.

The people at the door seemed to have given up, and the silence that suddenly spread through the room was almost eerie.

Dark red blood dripped on the white floor tiles.

_No, I can't change it. But I can prevent it from happening again._

She closed her eyes for a final time and went back to where Osiris was waiting for her, pacing impatiently. "So? What did you see?", he asked as soon as she reopened her eyes. "Do you know what we can do? I _mean _it Isis, I will_ not _kill him, get it?"

The goddess couldn't help but smile through the tears that had begun forming in her eyes. "No, you're right.", she whispered. "His soul is even more beautiful than it looks from the outside. I won't permit his untimely death. Do you know what I thought when I entered his Mind Room? I thought that I had made a mistake, and that...that I'd entered some little child's mind. Isn't that crazy? Me, thinking I made a mistake?!" The usually calm woman seemed close to panicking.

"He is so pure and kindhearted and _sad_. Osiris, we _must _make him happy again. Let's make him happy. Life in the afterworld is so boring anyway, so this will be a nice way to pass some time, too! Please! I don't care what we have to do just...I don't want him to cry. I feel that he has cried enough in the past years."

Her partner couldn't help but chuckle a little at her enthusiasm ,"Okay! I think he deserves to be happy, too. But how? I have no idea how to accomplish that!" Isis rolled her eyes, regaining control of her emotions. "Are you really _that_ stupid or do you just pretend because you know I find it cute? It's so _simple_, really...I can't believe we let him hurt for _years_."

"Will you tell me what the hell you're going on about? I fucking get it already, I'm stupid and you're the most intelligent woman in the universe. Now tell me your idea or I'll just go kill your precious Yugi!", he hissed playfully.

Isis grinned and quickly answered, "Geez, don't always be so impatient! You wouldn't dare hurt him anyway, now that you know he's important to me.", her lover huffed indignantly, but she ignored him and continued "Look, we can just send Atem back! They'll both be happy, and in sixty or maybe even seventy years they'll be back here again anyway. With the little extra that Atem will behave just like a good, happy little pharaoh!"

"Send...him...back?", Osiris stuttered, baffled.

Isis had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes again. "I know it's been done before. Someone being sent back, I mean."

"Yeah, and look what it's done to the world!"

"Well, this time we'll do it right. We'll send him to the world of the living, just him, his nineteen-year-old self. No special powers or anything. You will take care of that, and I'll plant the wish to go to Egypt in Yugi and his friends' heads. Then they can pick him up and take him to Japan. This plan is absolutely fool-proof! And Yugi will be happy! Come _on _Osiris, they're soulmates!"

The green-skinned god knew right then that asking Isis for help was the best idea he had ever had. Even though he had no idea what she had seen to make her so eager to see those two happy together, he was convinced that sending Atem back was the right thing to do. So he set to work immediately, summoning Anubis and Thoth to ask for them to approve of his new plan, as well as Atem, to tell him of his decision and to let him know the details of this little deal.

~About the same time; Domino City, Japan~

Yugi Mutou's life had changed drastically in the past years. He had started out as a more or less (hell, probably less) normal student who liked playing games and whom people liked to bully. Then he had solved a really old 3D puzzle. As a result of that he'd harbored part of an ancient pharaoh's soul for a while, only to fall in love with him and to realize that after said pharaoh was already gone forever (or so it seemed).

He really _had _tried, and very hard, too, to forget him, to move on, to ignore his feelings, to cry them into his pillows, to write them down, to admit them to his best friends...nothing helped. No matter what he did, he just couldn't let go of the deep, overwhelming sadness he felt _all the freaking time_. Some things helped a bit, others made it worse. Studying helped concentrate on other things, complicated math problems and English vocables distracted him, demanded his attention enough that he could – not for long, but still – forget that voice that had dominated his mind for so long.

That was why hardly anyone noticed what was wrong with him...in the beginning. There is no way that a boy whose marks are excellent has any real problems, right?

Wrong.

In the first weeks and months after Atem – surprisingly, thinking the name didn't hurt so much – had left, he felt numb, as he slowly came to realize that what he felt for his Yami was more than deep friendship. It was_ so much _more, and so much he couldn't put into words.

Téa had soon started to notice he was hiding things and, true to her character, found out and informed Joey, Tristan and his grandfather. They all tried to help as best as they could, talking to him about letting go, or listening to him ramble about his feelings, or holding him when he cried.

And yet, in the end, none of his friends could really understand what he had shared with Atem, as none of them had ever experienced such a thing. Kaiba wanted him to see a psychiatrist to 'heal' whatever was wrong with him. Whenever he or someone else suggested it, though, Yugi threw an evil temper tantrum and locked himself into his room, not coming out for hours.

It was about eight months after that fateful duel, when Solomon Mutou decided to use some more drastic methods to 'help' his grandson. With the aid of an old friend who was a doctor, he got anti-depressants and started to put them into Yugi's food. It even worked for a while, and the poor boy's mood seemed to lift little by little.

However, Yugi didn't understand _why_ he was starting to feel better again, and that bothered him to no end. Was he _forgetting_ Atem? Had so much time passed already? He could _not _let that happen! He couldn't simply let those memories die! He talked to his grandfather about it, but the old man didn't seem to want to hear any of it. "It's not a crime that you're moving on, Yugi. It isn't healthy to mourn about things you can't change. You forgetting about him is a good thing."

Solomon hoped for the best, and kept making sure Yugi ingested the little white pills that stopped him from looking for ways to let out his pain.

It went on like that for a few months, and it seemed that everything would be fine again soon enough. Maybe he could even stop giving Yugi those pills, seeing as he was doing remarkably well. Until one day in early spring, Yugi was searching for a lost card and stumbled over a little white box. He didn't think much of it, except then a few words someone had scribbled on the box caught his eye:

_One per day should be enough for your grandson. If you feel he's doing really great, tone it down to half a pill, or one every two days._

Those two sentences motivated him to open the box and read the package insert _very _thoroughly, and it was clear very fast that this 'medicine' was most certainly _not _meant for his grandfather.

He was almost done, when said grandfather decided to close the game shop for the day. For a split second, Yugi didn't know how to react. Then he used an eerily cold voice to ask "Grandpa, will you please tell me what this is?"

The question sounded more like a command, and Solomon scrambled to find an excuse, but unfortunately for him, Yugi was not stupid enough to believe anything he could have come up with so quickly. "You're giving me _drugs _to keep me happy? Is that your idea of helping?I can't believe you! Couldn't you _ask _be if I wanted this before?", he hissed furiously.

A part of Solomon was scared, the other surprised to see his grandson showing so much rage. "Yugi, I knew you would never have agreed. That's why I didn't ask you. And you can't expect me to sit here and watch you hurt all the time. Please understand. They've been helping you, haven't they? Just try it for a little while longer." The former archaeologist had been so sure Yugi would be alright soon...

"No. If you knew I wouldn't have agreed, you shouldn't have tried in the first place."

From then on, Yugi started to get on the internet and learned how to make food, never eating anything he hadn't prepared himself.

Everyone expected it, but nonetheless, when it happened they were all frightened to death, unlike Yugi, who seemed not to feel anything anymore. He was going back to his favorite way of dealing with emotional pain: replacing it with physical pain in the easiest way possible. Not even Ryou, who had had Bakura's wretched, messed-up and sneaky spirit in his body for so long, could tell how and where Yugi was getting those blades.

His friends still walked home with him from school, still visited to tell him about their day and to listen to what little he would tell them. Solomon made sure to keep anything that had the slightest potential to be dangerous out of Yugi's reach, and Yugi never seemed to go out.

Nobody knew where he was hiding them, or how he kept getting new ones when someone managed to take them away from him. If anyone dared to ask any questions or tried to talk to him about it, he got angry and locked up, yelling that "NONE OF YOU UNDERSTANDS HOW I FEEL SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

To his relief, they started to give him as much space as they could, and not just because he wanted them to – It's just difficult to talk to someone who blows up simply because you asked him how he slept.

_And so the days become weeks. The weeks turn into months._

_The time passes agonizingly, slowly, painfully, but at least it passes._

_Life goes on, and the memories start to fade. I don't want them to fade, but I don't know how to stop it._


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: You people out there are really evil and unfair, do you realize that? Putting this on your alert list and not even leaving me a single line of feedback! :( A few words aren't THAT hard to type, come on please please please? I need some support here, guys!**

**~ Mariahime-who-is-very-sad  
**

Chapter 2

A few days ago, the summer holidays had started, and nothing indicated that the sunny, warm afternoon was to become one of the worst days in several people's lives.

Having no homework to do, duelist and high school student Yugi Mutou had exhausted his pool of distractions, and the peace and quiet was giving him room to think as he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Too much room to think. As the day wore on and the sky turned orange, the only thing left on his mind was _Atem. _He tried reading, doing a complicated new puzzle, looking at new cards and figuring out new strategies...

Suddenly, the room seemed too small, his clothes too tight, the summer heat too unbearable, and his chest ached and constricted. His eyes fell on the digital clock on his bedside table and he realized it was exactly two years ago that he had been left alone – figuratively speaking, of course. Yugi knew he wasn't _alone _in the literal sense_, _he still had grandpa, Joey, Tristan, Téa, Ryou...

He closed his eyes and fought down a sob. It was like the picture of those eyes was printed into his mind forever. Why should he keep living like this? Hurting like this? Why should he study and go to what Kaiba called his 'Duties as the King of Games' – stupid gala dinners and duels with so-called champions that never beat him anyway – and eat and sleep and go on and on and on, perfect to cameras and teachers, but wretched and hurting on the inside?

His grandpa was downstairs in the game shop, his friends off somewhere … nobody would notice, and nobody would find out. And he could distract himself from this. No room to think was left in his mind. He took off the leather handcuff he still wore often as his feet carried him to the bathroom almost automatically, where he pulled that wonderful piece of gleaming silver metal off the underside of his favorite shampoo. For several seconds, he just stared at the blade, watching it reflect the pale light of the moisture-proof lamp.

_'Do you really want to do this again? _He_ wouldn't like you doing this...'_

These two sentences were old news to Yugi.

They always entered his mind when he was about to do this, and were, as usual, followed by '_Who __fucking cares. He's not here to say 'Aibou, this is not a way to deal with problems. Lets just send whoever hurt you to the shadow realm.''_

There was no pharaoh, and nobody _to _send to the shadow realm.

_'Here we go again. You are so pathetically weak.'_

The silver gleaming of the blade was almost hypnotizing, enchanting, promising him relief from the ache in his heart.

_'I'm weak? So what? I do not. Fucking. Care.'_

Abruptly, he felt a burning hot anger surge through him. In no time, his wrist was free of handcuff and gauze, and then there was only _pain_.

It was Téa who found him, having wanted to say hello on her way home from her dancing lesson. Solomon just sent her upstairs, trying to ignore the nagging feeling he had in his chest. He was still trying to convince himself that everything was fine, when he heard Téa's scream.

Within seconds, the ambulance was called and the bleeding in Yugi's wrist stilled. Solomon and Téa called Joey and Tristan, and someone informed Kaiba, too, for some reason. Yugi had gone too far this time, and it looked like he'd almost died of blood loss.

It was almost midnight when they got permission to see him. Yugi was fast asleep, looking tiny and vulnerable and pale in his seemingly huge hospital bed. The doctor, a severe blonde woman in her mid-thirties, stood beside his bed when Solomon, Joey, Téa, Tristan and – god only knew why – Kaiba walked in. The second she saw them, she began her explanations, foregoing greetings as she saw the anxious expressions before her.

"We had to give him blood transfusions, and he's still very weak. That's why I decided to give him sleeping medication for the time being. He's also much too thin, so he's being fed through that tube you can see on his arm. You have ten minutes, and then I would like you to go home and let him rest. We will know more tomorrow morning, but I'm pretty sure he'll be fine again soon."

She seemed to want to say something else, but then her beeper sounded and she excused herself and left after glancing at the small black device.

Nobody spoke for a long time, and the group exited the hospital reluctantly about fifteen minutes later. Yugi's friends went home with Solomon, since none of them wanted to leave him alone, no matter for how long.

They reassembled in the living room and, after making coffee for everyone, Téa finally broke the heavy silence. "I can't believe we let it come to this."

"Me neither" Tristan agreed. "We have to do something, I don't care if he doesn't want us to, he can't go on like this."

Joey sighed. "Does anyone have an idea? Because my mind is blank. I mean, haven't we been through everything that could be done in a situation like this?"

"A situation like this?", Kaiba hissed "What are you talking about? There is no situation like this. But I agree that we have to do something drastic, and soon. He's the King of Games, and I can't take him to that championship in a month if he's a wreck like this. You've supposedly been his best friends for years, don't you have any ideas what could be done?"

"You're such a heartless bastard! You're only here because you need him to advertise your games!", Joey shot back furiously. He bantered with the company director for a few moments, but Solomon quickly got tired of it. He was out of his mind with worry, and these kids were not helping. His grandson was in the hospital because he was too useless to find a way to help him. The owner of the Kame Game shop felt terribly guilty and angry with himself.

"Will you be quiet! I really don't feel like listening to your childish dispute now! Yugi is in the hospital and I did nothing to prevent it. It's all my fault, I was supposed to take care of him...", he half-yelled, almost choking up. He hated the feeling of being useless, like he was too old to be of any help to anybody.

"That's not true!", Joey immediately disagreed "You tried your best, but it just didn't work, and that's not your fault. He's our best friend, and we _will _work something out. I don't know why, but...I have a feeling that he'll be really happy again very soon. I might not know how yet, but trust me, he _will_ be fine."

This short speech gave everyone some hope and, after talking for a while, resolved to meet again in the hospital the following morning. That night, even Seto Kaiba went to bed with a heavy heart, but a determination to make Yugi laugh again. Sure, they had not formed an exact plan yet, but they were sure it was close.

~Meanwhile in the Realm of the Egyptian Gods~

Isis smiled at the picture that floated in the air in front of her. Her plan was working perfectly. It hurt her heart a bit that she hadn't been able to save Yugi the hospital stay, but she knew – just like his friend – that he'd be happy again soon. One last thing had to be done.

She entered a certain blonde doctor's Mind Room and planted a tiny little thought in there. And that was it. Then she went looking for Osiris. As expected, she found him with Anubis and Thoth in one of the nicer sitting rooms their palace had. The three gods were currently arguing about something. It seemed that Thoth didn't want to send back Atem and he was angry that nobody really cared about his opinion anyway.

The goddess of motherhood resolved to step in. This was no time to argue, it was a time to _act_. Yugi could kill himself anytime, and these gods didn't have the right kind of authority to bring back someone who was no pharaoh. Sure, they were allowed to meddle a bit, but bring him back from a death he had chosen himself? No way.

"Hello everyone.", she nodded her greetings to Anubis and presented Thoth with a wide, flirtatious smile.

"Hi there", he said, smiling back.

Osiris barely held back a snort. He knew exactly what she was doing, that manipulative woman.

"Thoth, it's _so _nice to see you around! You should really come see us more often. I always miss you so fast!" The god of wisdom practically preened when he heard her words, not noticing that she was using his feelings to get him to do what she wanted. "Well, I _am _quite busy all the time. You know, being the god of wisdom and all. But I promise to look in more often, if it makes you so happy."

At that, Anubis exchanged a look with Osiris as if to say 'Seriously? He _still_ hasn't gotten it?'

Osiris just grinned at his companion, glad not to have to fight Thoth again.

"That's great! So.", Isis began, getting to serious business now. "I hope you have decided you want to help, Thoth. I don't think Osiris and Anubis could do this without you, and it is so _very _important to me. I would be sad forever if Atem couldn't go back to his little Yugi. They make such a _wonderful _couple, don't you think? A Yami and his Hikari, together! How I love the idea. Also, they're soulmates, did you know?"

The three males gaped at her openly for a split second, before Anubis got it together again and asked, "We allowed a pharaoh to stay apart like that from his _soulmate_? This long? No fucking way!"

Isis gave the men a solemn look. "We did. It looks like a few millennia of having next to nothing to do made us lazy and unobservant."

And the rest is history, as they say. Thoth agreed to help, claiming that he wished to have done this much, much earlier and getting to work swiftly and with no complains at all.

~Domino City, late morning after the day Yugi Mutou was hospitalized due to severe blood loss~

"Good morning Mr. Mutou. I'm happy to tell you that your grandson is doing much better. He'll be up again in no time! I'm sorry to have told you so little last night, I was very stressed because I'd had a long shift behind me. Yugi lost much less blood than it first looked like. He only fainted because he hasn't been eating well and his body was weak. He'll have to eat and drink lots of healthy food, but I'm confident that we can release him by the end of this or next week if he follows my orders.", the blonde doctor said the next morning, sounding almost giddy with relief. She'd obviously taken a liking to him.

At the end of her speech, Téa, Joey and Tristan started talking all at the same time.

"That's such a relief!", "It's okay, we understand that you were under lots of stress.", "Can we see him now?"

The doctor's face fell a little. "Not yet, there is still something I would like to discuss with you all for a bit."

In their expressions, she could see that they expected her next words already, since she had always prided herself on being very good at reading people. "See, I want to help you prevent something like this from happening again. I won't ask what brought this sweet boy so far as to hurt himself, because I feel that it isn't my place to do so. However, have you thought about letting him see a mind healer for a while?"

It was Téa who replied in a surprisingly calm voice. "Yes. We all tried to talk to him about it a lot, but no matter what any of us say, the topic just makes him angry. It really is no use at all even though we still try at intervals.", she decided not to mention the anti-depressants, seeing as the doctor had probably read about that in his medical record anyway.

"Well", the woman continued, seeming to have anticipated Téa's answer "how about going away for a while? The holidays have started, you can take him somewhere for a while. Let him choose. Just get away from Domino City for some time. Relax in an Onsen or something like that. It will help him clear his mind and think about nicer things. What do you think, is it worth a try?"

As she spoke, an overwhelming sense of _rightness _flooded through Yugi's friends. This was it, the perfect solution. The doctor left to let them think after mentioning that they could go in to Yugi now. The moment she was out of earshot, Joey said "I think it's clear where we're going to take him, right? It's so obvious, I can't believe I didn't think of it!"

"I don't know about you guys, but _I _don't really have the money to fly to Egypt just like that.", Téa muttered. At that, Seto almost cracked a smile. "Don't worry about that. We're taking my jet. As soon as he's allowed to leave the hospital, we're all leaving together."

"What if he doesn't want to?", Solomon asked worriedly. "Or it doesn't help?", Tristan added.

Joey had the answers to their questions immediately. "Well, we'll have to persuade him, won't we? And it can hardly be worse than doing nothing."

Shortly after that, they were all in Yugi's hospital room for the second time in as many days.

"So what do you think, Yugi? Would you like to go somewhere for a while?", Téa asked when she felt it was the right moment.

"Go somewhere? Like a vacation?", he asked. She nodded, trying not to notice the paleness of his skin.

"We can go anywhere you want. I'm providing the jet. Heaven only knows I need some peace and quiet at a beach for a while.", Kaiba chimed in.

Yugi seemed to think about it for a minute. Then his face seemed to light up "Can we go to Egypt?", he asked in that excited voice they'd all missed so much. Tristan and Joey exchanged a meaningful look. Téa smiled at him. "Sure we can. The day your doctor gives her okay, we're leaving. How does that sound to you?"

"Awesome! I'll have to make sure I get better real fast!"

Solomon gave him a tired smile, "You know that means to do as the doctor says, right?"

"Yeah, of course.", Yugi replied instantly, nodding enthusiastically.

Ten days later, Yugi looked much better. He was still pale, but the new scars on his wrist were healing and he had gained some weight. Nurses fawned over him all the time – not that he really noticed, but his friends did and they found it hilarious. Finally, the doctor told him he could leave the hospital, under strict orders to eat healthily and not overexert himself.

As soon as he got home, he started packing a few things to take with him. He had no idea what made him so giddy and excited about going to Egypt, but he assumed that it couldn't do any harm.

EGYPT, of all the places to return to...

If the trip really didn't do him any good, Seto had told him, they could still visit the pyramids or something like that and then go straight back home. "I don't like that you're all so worried about me. You can stop it, I'm fine.", Yugi had answered.

In return, Seto had only said, "You brought it on yourself. People will worry about you and if you don't like it, then maybe you should have thought about what consequences your actions have _before_."

"Right. I'm sorry, for all that it's worth.", the smaller one had said quietly, not really knowing where to look and uncomfortably settling on his hands.

The brunette had only sighed. "It's okay. Just get better." He'd left just a short time later.

Now he was back in his room at home and couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad that his grandpa had too much to do in the game shop to go with them. As he threw another shirt into his suitcase, he realized he was alone with his thoughts for pretty much the first time since going to hospital. There had always been someone around in the past days, and the realization hit him that his friends were scared to leave him alone. They seemed absolutely convinced that he'd do something to himself if left alone for longer than half an hour.

_What have I done? _Another thing he didn't know. He knew nothing, it seemed.

_No, I don't know nothing. I know that I need to get better and move on. That's the right thing to do...right?_

"May I have your attention. Please put on your seat belts. We will be landing in Cairo, Egypt in about half an hour. The local time is ten thirty in the morning and the weather is warm and sunny. Thank you for flying with us, and have a nice stay!", a woman's voice said over the intercom. Kaiba rolled his eyes, muttering "I told her _not _to do that. We know where we're going to land."

The over nine-thousand kilometer distance from Domino City to the capital of Egypt had been boring and the silence kind of tense. Yugi could hardly wait to get out of the plane. His legs were stiff and he really wanted to get moving.

After taking a trip to the bathroom to wash his face, he sat down and put on his seat belt. Twenty minutes (that felt like a lifetime) later, he felt the strange tug in his stomach that meant they had landed. The feeling was weird and uncomfortable, but he ignored it as best as he could, took off his seat belt and practically leaped out of his seat as soon as he was allowed to.

There was something he had to do, and he would know what it was when he was out of this godforsaken plane, he was absolutely sure. If not, he was going to get out of this plane, spend some time in Egypt, realize it did little good, go back to Japan, get over it, forget Atem, live his life. Yugi would finish high school and go to university and get a job, help his grandpa in the shop and move on and learn to be happy again. He was determined not to make his friends worry again.

In the airport, a familiar, Egyptian woman was waiting for the group.

"Ishizu!", Yugi yelled as soon as he recognized her. "I was going to contact you anyway and now I don't need to! That's great! What are you doing here?"

"You were?", Joey asked, confused. None of them had spoken to Ishizu a very long time, and Yugi had certainly not mentioned her. At the moment, though, he was nodding enthusiastically. "I was. I just didn't know yet, but now I do."

"You do?", Téa inquired with a worried look on her face. Yugi sighed in exasperation. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm _not_ crazy."

"Sure you aren't.", said Tristan drily.

Ishizu decided to speak up before the teenagers started to fight. "Why were you planning to contact me? Is there anything you need? I came here today because I felt that I really should, and it looks like my feeling was right. Why didn't you call me? What's going on and why are you even here?"

"I'm here because I need to go to the door." At her confused expression, he elaborated "The place where the ceremonial duel was...remember? I have to go there quickly."

"The place you dueled the Pharaoh? What business do you have there?", she asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't know. Just...please...can you take me there? Or tell me how to get there? I'll know the answers to your questions then, I'm positive.", at his pleading look, she relented. She was a sucker for this boy's pout.

"Yugi, I can't imagine what could be urging you to go there, or why, but I'll take you. I think this is why I felt the pull to come here today – because you needed my help. Will your friends accompany you?"

"Will...what?", only now did Yugi seem to remember that Joey, Téa, Tristan and Seto were looking at him like he'd gone absolutely mental. "Right. Guys...do you mind if I go with Ishizu alone?"

"Are you sure? Yugi, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go there. Won't it, like, stir up memories you'd rather forget?", Téa asked, concerned.

He shook his head, "No, I mean, yes...I...I'm sure I want to go. I need to. Just trust me please."

"If he's so sure then he can go. Let's wait for him in the hotel, I'm dead tired anyway. Couldn't sleep on that plane.", Joey said, earning a grateful smile from Yugi.

"Well, I guess you're right. We'll see you later then, Yugi?", Tristan asked uncertainly. Yugi just nodded again with a distracted expression on his face.

Ishizu promised to bring Yugi back safely and, after Seto gave her the name of the hotel and Yugi the key to his hotel room, they left. The duelist was very edgy and could hardly sit still for the whole car ride, but Ishizu managed to keep her calm demeanor through her confusion. She still couldn't imagine what on earth Yugi could have to do _there._

They'd almost reached their destination when she finally spoke. "Yugi, what do you expect to see when we get there? You know he's long gone, right?"

He flinched at her words, but then shrugged weakly. "I really don't know, Ishizu. I can't believe I'm even here. I … I feel like I need to go there just this once and...I haven't really thought about what comes afterwards. But I've done nothing long enough, and even if it doesn't make me feel better at all, at least it means I tried. You know what I mean?"

She nodded, and halted the car at a traffic light that seemed out of place in this calm area.

He managed not to flinch this time as she looked at him and asked, "You love him, is that right?" Making it sound as if Atem was just on a quick business trip and would be back in a few days...

He didn't answer, but his expression seemed to be enough for her, as she nodded again and turned her eyes back to the road, sighing. "I wondered, after you dueled, you know? But knowing it wouldn't change anything, so I pushed the thought away. And it was true all the time. It's why you look so horrible, isn't it? Like you haven't slept or eaten in weeks." Yugi cast his eyes downwards, somehow feeling ashamed of his own weakness. The tomb-keeper didn't seem to notice as she went on. "Do you not wonder what he'd say if he knew how you have been handling his absence? You knew him better than I, so please tell me, what would he say if he saw you now?"

"Ishizu...", he started to say, but she cut him off.

"Forget it. We're here."

**I'm sorry this was kind of a filler and sad and depressed but it'll get better soon I promise!**


End file.
